HARRISBURG, Nov. 16 – State Rep. Morgan Cephas today announced that she will be stepping down from her position as co-chair of the Pennsylvania Women’s Health Caucus Cephas said this represents a sweet-and-sour moment in her career as a lawmaker because she is closing a chapter that allowed her to fight for women’s rights at all levels. “I’m proud to say that as the Women’s Health Caucus, we not only fought, but also won many battles together. I had the honor to support this work in Harrisburg and at home, in Philly co-sponsoring legislation aimed to ensure access. We also have made great strides for maternal health in the Commonwealth under the guidance of the WHC in the last two years.” Cephas emphasized the extensive list of the organization’s achievements includes close collaboration with the governor's administration and stakeholders from across the state, which has resulted in a $25 million investment into maternal health and the implementation of the Medical Assistance extension from six weeks to one-year postpartum. “The WHC has played a pivotal role in decisions made at the Capitol. We also worked on the creation of a pathway to certification for doulas through the launch of the Perinatal Doula Certification Program, and improvements in supports for our incarcerated population through the development of the Doula Pilot Program in SCI Cambridge Springs and SCI Muncy,” Cephas said. Read more

The event, called “Abortion Freedom for All,” drew hundreds of people to the Capitol steps just as the General Assembly was about to reconvene for session. Read more

HARRISBURG, Oct. 17 – State Rep. Morgan Cephas today sent a letter to the Human Relations Commission along with House Members of the PA Legislative Black Caucus and the Women’s Health Caucus, where she serves as co-chair, requesting the institution to investigate a recent incident that occurred at the Philly Pregnancy Center. The letter states that a black pregnant patient from Delaware County was harassed and scolded by a staffer who was questioning the need of a doctor’s note to leave work. “While we have made great strides, there is still much work to be done and the incident that took place at the Philly Pregnancy Center Norristown location exemplifies the reasons we are not done yet,” Members highlight in the letter. “Pregnant and birthing people in Pennsylvania should have safe places to seek and receive equitable care no matter their ZIP code, race, ethnicity, gender or income level. As shown in the viral video, that is not always the case.” The correspondence also signed by state Reps. Mary Joe Daley, D-Montgomery, co-chair; Donna Bullock, D-Phila., chairwoman and Darisha Parker, D-Phila., chairwoman of the PLBC Subcommittee on Women & Girls of Color. It emphasized the need to hold providers accountable for their interactions with patients in order to guarantee a fairness in the services they offer. The caucus also highlighted in the letter that there is an imperative to protect and expand access to care, Read more

Building on great progress made for maternal health over the last year, the Pennsylvania Women’s Health Caucus continues the fight to improve health outcomes for women and families and continues to work to protect reproductive health access for all. Read more

“The attacks we’re seeing on reproductive rights from our Republican colleagues is a monumental infringement on the rights of women and birthing people across the commonwealth. We are here today to propose these important bills to protect these crucial rights for the women and birthing people of Pennsylvania.” Read more